Connect your appliances into the Kill A Watt™, and assess how efficient they are. A large LCD display counts consumption by the Kilowatt-hour just like utility companies. You can figure out your electrical expenses by the hour, day, week, month, even an entire year. Monitor the quality of your power by displaying Voltage, Line Frequency, and Power Factor.

I’ve gone through our house and measured the power consumption of random devices:

Microwave (while dormant, simply displaying time): 2 watts — It costs us roughly $2/year to leave the microwave plugged in all the time.

Nintendo Wii (while playing Trauma Center: Second Opinion): 16 watts — Far less power than I would have guessed.

Strand of Christmas lights: 39 watts — More than I would have guessed. It will cost us roughly $3 to have this strand of lights plugged in during the Christmas season.

MacBook Pro (recharging with battery at 66%): 58 watts

Oil-filled radiator-style space heater: 520 watts on low, 820 watts on medium, and an unknown amount on high. I tripped the circuit breaker when I tried.

Dual-control electric blanket (one side set to three, the other turned off): 80 watts, declining by a watt every few seconds (presumably because it requires less power as it gets warmer — I don’t know). I stopped watching after it had dropped to 58 watts.

Desk Lamp: 5 watts

Nighlight: 1 watt — Assuming the nightlight is on 12 hours/day, it costs about 50 cents to run for an entire year.

While researching this post, I learned that cable boxes are hidden power hogs. It hadn’t occurred to me to test ours, but I’ll do so tonight. (I read one report of a cable box drawing 100 watts. If you leave yours on 24/7 as we do, that’s about $100 a year!)

The Kill-a-Watt’s best feature is the ability to measure power consumption over time. If I want to see how much power the cable box really draws, for example, I can leave it plugged into the Kill-a-Watt. After a few days, I can check the cumulative power consumption in kilowatt hours and compare it to the amount of time that has elapsed. (Both of these are measured by the device.) Simple arithmetic will show me how much I’m spending to power the cable box!

The Kill-a-Watt does have some minor drawbacks:

The unit doesn’t measure power consumption for large appliances like a range, or a washer or dryer.

The unit itself is rather bulky. When you plug it in, it’s tall enough that it crowds (and usually blocks) the other receptacle in a standard outlet.

The screen can be difficult to read, especially for a chubby old geek like me. The readout is relatively dim, and most outlets are located near the floor. I had to do a lot of crouching and crawling to make readings.

The user must do some math in order to figure out overall power usage and, especially, how much the usage costs. Fortunately, the math is relatively simple.

Once you have the initial information, the Kill-a-Watt isn’t very useful. It’s not a tool you will use all the time.

I find the Kill-a-Watt fascinating. It makes an abstract topic concrete. I can read all sorts of tips about how to save energy, but they’re all rather esoteric until I can actually see the numbers in front of me. The Kill-a-Watt gives me those numbers.

Note: I purchased this device using Amazon credit earned from this site. I also purchased several personal finance and self-development books for future review. I hope to begin “re-investing” some of the site revenue in items to review and to give away to readers.

GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve their financial goals. Savings interest rates may be low, but that is all the more reason to shop for the best rate. Find the highest savings interest rates and CD rates from Synchrony Bank, Ally Bank, and more.

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I could use this as I have 4-5 devices at any given time that need recharging.

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ALEX BARNHAM

Most people do not know how much electricity they waste, how to read their electric meter, even how to read their utility bill or what it means. A kilowatt is a thousand watts PER HOUR and most people do not even know how many they use a day, month, or year. They look at their utility bill and it could be written in Greek for all they know. People leave lights on all over the house all day long, all night long. Heating water with electricity is extremely expensive compared to a solar hot water heater. You can make a solar hot water heater with an inexpensive coil of black plastic pipe.

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scdr

Jim F (Post 47) – The Kill-a-watt meter only takes power when plugged in. If you just use it to find out how much power devices use (a few minutes to a few days per device), the electricity use is negligible. (No reason to leave it plugged in for a year, as you suggest.)

Also, using common sense in unplugging devices only works if you knows what devices use power. I found two devices (a CD player and a tape player) that used 5-6 watts each while plugged in, turned off and doing nothing. (Neither had any indicator to show they were still powered, neither has a remote to turn it on, they both have a physical on-off switch, so I was amazed to find that they were also energy vampires.)

Point is – some energy vampires are obvious, and some aren’t.

Also, about pre 1992 fridge taking large amounts of power – again, not necessarily. We have a really ancient fridge in the basement. (predates things like automatic defrost.) It is almost never opened. Turns out it takes about 183 kw-hrs/year to run it (cost about $17/year). Replacing that with a modern “energy efficient” refrigerator would not only cost hundreds of dollars for refrigerator, but probably use considerably more power because it is very difficult to find refrigerators that aren’t frost free. So again – measuring is the only way to really know what is going on.

“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice, there is.”

(But I agree that this is a tool best borrowed, rather than bought.)

Claire F (Post 49) – the UL label isn’t the whole story. It just gives a maximum usage. Many devices vary how much they use (e.g. refrigerator or electric blanket use power to heat or cool area for a while, then they switch off for a while). To find out how much such devices really use, need to leave meter plugged in for a while. Similarly for computers, monitors, televisions, printers, dehumidifiers, etc.

Joe (post #3), and in original article:
This also explains the posts about electric blankets. The posters only checked for a short time, so they just saw the blanket heating (and no matter what it heats at the same rate). The number on the dial should control the thermostat, which tells the heater at what temperature to turn off (how long to heat, in effect). e.g., If you left the blanket on #2 all night, and measured how much power it took, and then put it on #5 and left it for the same amount of time in a room with the same ambient conditions, you should find that the higher temperature setting took more power.

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Mr.T

I just measured my Wii (heh, pun intended).

It draws about 17-18 Watts while turned on at the menu (I think it was at the menu, the TV was off). About 9 Watts while off in “sleep” mode (light was yellow/orange). And only 1 Watt when it was forcefully powered down with the power button for a couple of seconds and the power light went red.

my kill o watt meter told me what you may already know, that the biggest energy guzzlers are those that suck or blow air (dehumidifiers and vacuums), cool air (ACs) or produce heat (ovens, clothes dryers and irons).

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Jim F

Cyber-punking??? Uh… OK… Right.

Jonny, as I’ve stated, if you need a gadget to tell you to turn off items you aren’t using and it will save you money, then you must certainly need it. Just don’t forget to unplug the thing when you’re through with it, or you might be wasting more energy and money.

Of course, I have to remember that Pet Rocks were once a big fad and sucked a lot of money from peoples pockets, too.

Now, if you don’t find any value to my statements, then perhaps you should go elsewhere… like back to school, until you grow up. Unfortunately, common sense is not a subject that can be taught… you either have it or you don’t.

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Jonny

What is the deal with Jim F?

I borrowed a Kill-a-Watt from a friend. No $20 spent on my end. I had a very high power bill and was able to identify many things that while consuming very little power in a sleep mode adds up quickly.

I am also able to identify exactly how much it does cost me to run my big screen tv, dvd, xbox, wii, playstation, AT&T uverse router, DVR, telephone, networked printer, computers, and refrigerators.

I was able to reduce my bill from 2522 KWH to 1453 KWH, and reduce my power bill about $140 for two months.

I know I use devices which require substantial power use, but adding in a few power strips that cut power when my ps, xbox, dvd, printer, and wii aren’t being used does add up.

Jim F – Why don’t you go elsewhere, where someone might value your statements, instead of acting like you are smarter than others seeking information. You only detract from the personal experiences that others may learn from.

Jonny P

Oh yeah, and your cyber-punking sucks. Grow up.

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H M T

Use common sense – just cut back on everything and save 10-25% IMMEDIATELY – nice & easy!! No need to read-up or analyze or get answers – simply just stop being pigs. We are 5 times more wasteful than the other 6.5 billion humans which our planet CANNOT sustain.

Don’t buy another big or small appliance from super polluting Asia shipped over on super toxic bunker diesel ships.

Better yet – take a wonderful trip to Paris: eat drink & be merry with wine & cheese; lose weight walking to see all the street artists, cafes, parks, museums, & galleries; and stay in a tiny tiny hotel room where you will never couch potato or worry about a big fridge/freezer. Parisians stroll daily to the “neighborhood” market and buy local fresh items.

Then come back here and free your life from your big suburban house and yard and SUV and pantry. Ignore the $10billion of advertising to buy buy buy. Forget the past and downsize 75% to an apartment in a gentrifying downtown with public parks/libraries/etc. You’ll lower paying cash to your toxic coal fired power plant electric bill 75%; lower your car costs 100% ($5000+/car/yr); lower your cleaning fixing & furnishing costs 75%; and lower your job’s income pressure 75%.

That’s right apply for a green job at 75% less wages and 75% less stress and 1000% more earth/community friendly!!

Be part of the common sense solution, not the big giant money spending too big to fail problem.

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Jim F

Ira(tate)
Whether you understand the definition of anything or not, if you can’t understand that wasting money on something that common sense will answer, then by all means, buy the gadget and enjoy your new hobby in determining how many dollars you can save in a year, thereby saving the world through your “green awareness”.

If you have a pre-1992 refrigerator, I can guarantee that it is using more energy than the newer ones, today. New refrigerators today, are no less reliable than the older models, so you are not likely to have it break on you in 3 years, and in fact, your pre-92 model is much more likely to be ready for he scrap yard. DUH!

You have done nothing but try to present useless reasoning to justify your own silliness, in making yourself feel better about your efforts to be “green” and “energy efficient”. It is more likely that your only green with envy, that you didn’t realize your foolishness in purchasing a techno-geek gadget to tell you that you only need to use a little common sense to save all that money and be energy efficient through conscious thought processes which use much less energy… unless you’re just too lazy to think about it.

As for your inability to find any sarcastic wit, it is only likely to be from your lack of intellect. Of course, only coming here to attack my common sense analytics, doesn’t help to demonstrate your level of intellect. Now, go turn on your desk lamp and finish reading your dictionary, while you try to increase your literacy skills, so you can understand the technical instructions on how to properly use your new techno-gadget.

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RJM

Jim F – you’re being a jerk!

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Ira

Jim F, assuming the refrigerator does not predate the Energy Star Labels (1992?), and that the yellow and black labels were saved, your solution is a great answer.

But if you don’t have those labels, the data tag on the refrigerator will only list maximum amps at 115VAC (or an other specified voltage). That lets us compute power used at max draw, usually when the motors start up. I wonder what the normal running power draw is? How many hours a day will the motor be running? How much power does the defrost heater draw, and for how long each day? How much energy will be saved by a new refrigerator each year? Will the purchase cost and energy saved by the new refrigerator will break even in 3, 5, 10, or 15 years?

But wait! There is a $20 meter that will answer the question in 24 hours, using less that 10 cents of electricity! And it can be used on all other appliances in the house! And my brothers house! But not your house!

You need to look up the definition of analogy. There are no analogies in either of your messages, only literal examples. Using ludicrous examples does not make them analogies.

Also look up sarcastic wit. You will find that wit requires clever use of words and ideas and a demonstration of intellect.

I’m weary of this exchange.

Goodbye

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Jim F

Ira, it’s not about just a desk lamp, although your bulb may be getting a bit dim if you can’t understand the difference between literal statements and an analogy. If you need a meter to tell you that an old refrigerator is using more energy than a new one or whether you would rather pay the electric bill instead of the “hassle” to turn your computer on and off, then by all means, buy the meter and have fun with your new hobby, as you spend your time and money to find out what common sense would have told you, in the first place.

Now, your concept of a “rant” is as realistic as your understanding of an analogy. If you refuse to except the ideas, because of the way someone tries to provide an example to make their point, then it is you that can’t be taken seriously. So, as you attempt to glue your nose back on your face, don’t allow a little sarcastic wit to seem so spiteful, that you ignore the facts presented and refuse to acknowledge the validity of the information.

So, if you have an old refrigerator, check the label and it will tell you how much power it uses (keep in mind, they become less efficient with age). Then check the label on a new one and you should be able to determine if it’s worth buying the new one. Now, turn off your computer and head to the store to check those labels. YES… SERIOUSLY! Don’t waste the electricity. It doesn’t take that long to boot up.

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Ira

Cranky cranky, Jim F.

I understand your point. It’s you who fails to support it with your comparison of using the meter for a full year (ludicrous) to unpluging your MW to keep the clock from using power (ludicrous) and not using your desk lamp (also ludicrous).

Around the house, initially using the meter for what adds up to a couple months is more realistic.

Examples of more realistic uses of the meter would be:

1. To find the power used by a computer system (pc, monitor, printer, scanner, UPS, etc.) when the system is in sleep/low power mode, to determine if it is worth the hastle of turn-off and reboot.

2. To find out how much power a 10 year old refrigerator is using compared to a new energy star refrigerator, to determine if it makes sense to buy the new one.

Your ranting in the last paragraph makes it hard to take your ideas seriously.

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Jim F

IRA, I think you missed the whole point, altogether. This is just another gadget that is being sold on the premise of saving money on energy costs. Consider the money you will spend for the device, as well as the money you are spending on energy just to operate the gadget, and you probably haven’t saved a dime.

For that matter, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist, much less a gadget, to understand that if you turn off those unnecessary lights, clocks, gadgets, computers, etc., you won’t be using as much energy. I don’t need to pay the cost of electricity to operate a gadget that is going to show me that unplugging the microwave will save me a whopping $3/year or by turning off a desk lamp might save me a whole $6/year.

So, how much are you really saving per year to run a gadget that uses electricity to tell you how much each device will save you, by turning it off? This is ludicrous.

Such things are nothing more than a waste of money, time, and plain old common sense. If you have plenty of money and no common sense, then get a hobby to take up your time. At least, you’ll probably have something more worthwhile to spend all that money on. For that matter, instead of using all that electricity to run that computer, so you can just surf the web and post illogical nonsense, just turn it off and save the energy. Of course, you won’t know how much you’re saving without a fancy gadget to help you save all that energy and money. But who cares… remember what a previous poster said, “every little bit helps”. So, how does running another gadget that uses more electricity help?

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Ira

Reply # 47 contains illogical conclusions, stating: “Upon reading the users manual for the Kill-A-Watt, it indicates that it uses 10Watts, which comes to 87.6KWH per year. At a low rate of 14-cents/KWH, that comes to 12.26/year. So, to find out that your microwave oven display clock is costing you $2/year or that your desk lamp is costing you $6 year (if left on 24/7)”

The correct conclusion is that at $.14/kwh the Kill-a-Watt will cost $12.26 a year to measure all of your equipment/appliances, not just the MW display clock and desk lamp.

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Tom

I have used even more than before… Power strips to save money. I recommend that all people do. Just flip the switch off or on when you need it. And don’t worry about the clock on the micro wave.

A penny save today can be spent tomorrow!!!

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Bruce

Just an education note for those who think the standard voltage is 110 Vac. Well on rare ocassions it may be especially in remote areas where there are long lines i.e. voltage is lower because of the resistance on the lines, but for the majority of people the EMF (electromotive force)or Voltage from your outlet is likley 115-120 VAC most of the time – (I have seen it as high as 125V)so if you measure the current consumption on the lable of the device by 110V to arrive at the power consumed most often you will get a wrong answer. The only true way is to measure both components to arrive at the true power consumption. A wattmeter does exactly this. Kill a Watt gives true consumption. By the way the lable on the device does not necessarily give the power consumption under all conditions. For example a motor under load will draw more current than no load. A cpu will draw more current when it is doing a lot of processing than if it is idle and so on.

Reducing power used even by a small amount by millions of homes is a real big deal overall.

Good to be informed so I recommend everyone know how much energy they are using and react accordingly.

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Andres C

I didn’t have to buy one of these devices to know that leaving stuff plugged in, especially the cable box, used a ton of power. It was anywhere from 5-10 bucks for me to leave cable box, xbox, and dvd player plugged in.
By doing things like these, I’ve been able to pay $60.00 – $70.00 per month in a duplex as opposed to more than twice that amount, which is what my neighbor pays for the same size apartment.

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Claire F

I just took a Green Audit training class and we will be using these. I was considering buying one for myself then a friend mentioned that every single electrical appliance has the info on the UL label (Volts x Amps) so don’t really need to buy the meter. We renovated about 9 years ago so I have the manuals for all my appliances and systems in one place. I’m creating a spreadsheet using the information from them along with UL ratings to measure my usage.

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Rick K

Has anyone checked how much power a timer switch uses while it is plugged in and just running the timer?

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Jim F

Keep in mind that the manual indicates that you should let your tests run for a “period of time” (“the longer, the better”) to get a “true indication” of actual usage of an appliance, which means that such appliances that cycle on and off could take up to a month to determine an accurate power consumption rate, in order for you to see how much energy you’re using in a year. So, depending on how many items you have to test in your home (and how many others you buy throughout the year and test when you bring them home), it may take you almost a year to find out how much it’s costing you.

Upon reading the users manual for the Kill-A-Watt, it indicates that it uses 10Watts, which comes to 87.6KWH per year. At a low rate of 14-cents/KWH, that comes to 12.26/year.

So, to find out that your microwave oven display clock is costing you $2/year or that your desk lamp is costing you $6 year (if left on 24/7), you have used more power trying to determine how much you can save, than it cost you to determine the costs of those units.

When you’re doing your cost analysis, don’t forget to add in the $20 average cost of the unit… after all, those pennies add up. Has anyone asked how much energy the manufacturer is using in a year, to build these units? How much is this adding to the “greenhouse effect” on the Earth’s environment.

And while we’re calculating the costs to the consumer… it would be interesting to find out if the company received any federal grants to design & build the device and if they get tax credits/deductions for their contribution of an energy-saving device. If so, then we would have to determine how much this is costing the average taxpayer each year.

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Sarah

Don’t forget to bring your kill-a-watt to work for show and tell. My company has absolutely no interest whatsoever in being green, but with kill-a-watt I was able to translate conservation into dollars. They are very interested in dollars.

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dana

About demand (tankless) water heaters: Home Depot carries them. There is some plumbing involved but nothing you need a licensed installer for. We have had one for a few years and it works great. Drawbacks are: high price, you can’t shower/do laundry/wash dishes simultaneously, and there is a learning curve on adjusting some things like the shower, the unit requires a certain amount of water to get the heater going so you can’t just run a trickle of hot water — it works best if you have separate hot and cold water knobs. Other than that we are really pleased. Heating is very fast and lasts as long as you want it, the unit is small and there is no worry of leaking/flooding as with a tank.

The other improvement I recommend is a whole house fan. We live in a climate where it gets very hot in summer and have been able to delay using the air conditioning much longer (even turn it off at night). They don’t cost much. I think you might need a certain amount of know-how to install them but again you can get them at Home Depot/Lowes/whatever and my husband installed ours in a weekend. I think in a hot climate it pays to install the best AC you can. We can usually hear air conditioners running all around us at night when ours is off.

I’ve been hearing about toxic gas released from the compact fluorescents that everyone has been urging us to buy. Maybe LEDs are a better solution? They last a really long time and I think they draw less power. Boats and airplanes are using them already.

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Gani

Hey, Im looking for a device that u can plug to the wall (power) and this device must gather the usage of electricity? Do u know of such a device if so let me know?

rockhound: How would I measure the consumption of my computer, which is comprised of many components drawing power from one socket?

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rockhound

Hey, you don’t need to use a device like this. All electrical devices have an information plate or sticker that lists the electrical consumption of the device. You can read the watts directly, or if it doesn’t list the wattage, simply multiply volts times amps to calculate watts.

The Kill-A-Watt is a wonderful tool. However, as stated in the article, it is hard-to-read in the ambient light in which it is often used. This is very easily overcome with any small LED flashlight (what? a couple of bucks?).

Boot in OS 9, use the Energy Saver setting as before. Then set the Startup Disk to OS X. When you shut down, the computer will automatically boot up in OS X at the time you set in Energy Saver in OS 9!

It works perfectly, my computer now starts automatically every weekday at 6.30, which means I can now wake up to my favourite mp3s…!

I’ve submitted a hint about it on the main site too…
*********************************

Looks like you can save some $$$ with a little scripting magic and a grounded timer switch.

One flaw in your Wii projections. Battery life in the remotes. I have no idea how long they last, but its worth a check.

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Jared

For the television, that’s pretty simple. Add a timer switch. There are the ungrounded ($4) and the grounded ($7?) Set the earliest time you’ll watch the TV, and the latest possible.

Your timer will pay for itself in two months based on your figures.

Cell phones, PDA’s, laptops I have all all plugged into one cheap power strip which is plugged into another timer and tucked away out of site nicely and holes cut in the top arranced nicely in a valet.

Figure out how long you need to charge on average. Plug in your chargeables each night and have it charge in the middle of the night for 2-3 hours.

I did it mainly for cable management, and power consumption second.

2nd option. If you have an atrium, patio, etc. Plug them into a nice solar powered recharging station. I have them more for emergency use, but laptops, cellphones, pda’s, and all well within limits.

3rd. The power company sells you power at different rates and different times (depending on load). So charging at night saves you money.

You G5 should have a power off script you can use with Quicksilver. The monitor? Another timer switch. Same with the speakers. External hard drives that sit idle and used only for backup need to be powered off when not in use too.

Easily one of the best things you can do is a heat on demand system. They are very common in 3rd world countries. I saw one in Tahiti. It heats the water as you need it.

Unfortunately, they are hard to find an installer for in, even in large cities. My parents hunted forever. Instead of hot water sitting in a tank all day long, it heats it right before it comes out the spout.

I am not a flower power hippie greenie at all but I am sad most of the great energy innovations aren’t being rolled out faster. Builders and remodelers are far to hesitant to adopt.

“This exact subject has been studied by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and they’ve made the study report available for free (it’s at http://tinyurl.com/y4nxyr).”

Thanks George, great info! (and it confirms my suspicion)

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Norman

Regarding front-loading washers, the current issue of Consumer Reports covers this. They say ~12 years to break even compared to a new top loader.

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dtjm

Sounds like a great gift idea. If it takes up too much space on the socket you could get one of those short extension cables…what are they called?

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George

Squid writes: “I’ve heard people say that heating your house 24/7 using a thermostat is better than heating it during the day, and turning off the heat at night.”

This exact subject has been studied by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and they’ve made the study report available for free (it’s at http://tinyurl.com/y4nxyr).

The bottom line is that you will save money if you use a programmable thermostat to drop the temperature during the day (when you’re not home) and overnight (when you’re asleep).

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mike

Hey JD, if you get a chance, can you test any of the wall-wart cell phone chargers (or other device chargers) you own? I’ve heard these things draw a few watts even when they’re not charging anything, because they sit there transforming the power in the brick part, generating some waste heat. I used to leave my cell charger plugged into the wall all the time (for convenience when it’s time to charge the phone), but I stopped since I heard that…

Very interesting thread!

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Chris Harbert

If you’d like to save even more money, you can find the wattage for most electronics and appliances by doing a little math.

The formula for finding the power (watts) is P=I*V, where P is the power (Watts), I is the current (Amps), and V is the voltage (Volts).

Most electronics and appliances list the number of amps they use and the standard voltage in a U.S. house is 110 V.

So multiply the number of amps listed on the device times 110 and you should get the number of watts it uses.

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Walt

After you figure out who much energy your stuff is using, the next step could be to get a Smart Power Strip. Example: when you turn off your computer, the strip will also turn off your monitor, printer, cable modem, etc. Power on the computer, everything else comes back on. Also try it with your TV and cable box.

I’ve heard people say that heating your house 24/7 using a thermostat is better than heating it during the day, and turning off the heat at night. The argument goes a lot like the argument for using cruise control (which does save gas.) I’m not sure if I buy it though – I do generally turn the heat off at night. I’m also not sure how to go about testing the theory… too many variables get in the way.

Thoughts? (if anyone is still following this thread)

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J.D.

I checked more of my electronic appliances tonight. The Wii clocks in at 16-18 watts, though I can’t figure out what causes the fluctuations.

My cable box uses 30 watts. That’s not just 30 watts when it’s on, but also 30 watts when it’s off. The only way to stop it from drawing 30 watts is to unplug it. That means I’m paying roughly $2.50/month extra for cable because of the stupid box.

My television draws 5 watts when it’s off and 95 watts when it’s on. So, the cable and TV combined use 35 watts when turned off and 125 watts when turned on.

Coming soon: how much power does my PowerMac g5 use? This is a big one. I leave it on *all the time*. I’ll bet I’m throwing away tons of money by doing so. Also, I wonder how much a modern PC uses in comparison.

Kris says that I should check her curling iron and her hair dryer.

This is kind of fun.

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dimes

The biggest tip I have for reducing home energy costs is to have your spouse leave. Getting rid of his thermostat-twisting ways, the laundry he creates, his penchant for daily bathing, and his habits of Never Turning Off a Light Switch and Leaving the Fridge Open has had a huge impact on our electric bill, probably $20/month or more.

Of course, I suppose this isn’t practical or even desirable for most people, but humor me while I make the most of the situation.

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Ian

Your 16 watt figure for the Wii seems to line up with what others have reported (they say 17W)

The above link takes you to Kill a Watt’s “Delux” model. Not a plug for the website per se, I’ve been eyeing this for my dad for X-mass.

He’s a retired nuclear engineer geek who volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. It’s somthing he will love and drive my mom crazy with. Perhaps a review if the “delux” model is in order?

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jldugger

We use kill-a-watt devices for a completely different kind of budgeting — organizing LAN parties. When you start plugging five or ten computers with “600W” power supplies, that quickly can flip breakers; especially if they all come on at the same time. That’s probably the best reason to have one on hand at our events; by avoiding failures in the first place you avoid repeated failures as half restart their computer immediately.

It’d be equally interesting to see the reported values of a Wii while on off/standby, or a cheapo 500W desktop power supply’s draw at the wall. The cheap ones are notoriously bad, especially at low loads.

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Rob

I got a Kill-A-Watt as a gift and love it. My PVR is a home-made computer drawing between 80-122W. At 3kWH/day (measured by Kill-A-Watt) and $0.18/kWH (according to my last electric bill), it costs about $0.50/day to leave on. That works out to an eyebrow-raising $15/month, or $180/year.

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The Technocrat

Hey JD, don’t forget about the stuff that’s not plugged in to a standard wall outlet, like the furnace in central HVAC and common bulbs.

Also, most people don’t realize they’re heating the air in their homes and water in the hot water heater 24/7.

I think you linked to a few reviews of mine back in the day on programmable thermostats and compact fluorescent bulbs. The short story is about $0.63 per bulb per month, and about $22 per 1000 sq. ft. per month.

George wrote By the same argument, why not use cold water instead of warm? Unless the clothes are really dirty, cold water does a fine job.

Yeah, as soon as I posted my comment I realized that I should have said “warm or cold” water!

As for the higher price of energy-efficient washing machines, according to Energy Star a qualified Energy Star clothes washer can save you $110/year in utility bills (see http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=clotheswash.pr_clothes_washers) compared with an old (pre 1994) model. That means a $500 washer could pay for itself in less than five years. However, they don’t say how the savings stack up if you’re trying to compare an Energy Star model with a new non-Energy Star washer. Personally, I don’t care…I bought mine for the environmental benefits rather than the economic savings. I consider the price premium that I paid (compared with what I would have paid for a conventional washer) to be a donation to the Earth.

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Brian

Some libraries have kill-a-watts available for checkout. Perhaps you could donate yours after you’re done with it.

Also, you shouldn’t be buying books. I’m sure you have a big enough readership to get them for free from the publishers (in exchange for a review).

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icup

I was just curious is all. The small stuff definitely does add up. JD, do you happen have a playstation 2? I would be interested in knowing how much it uses when on standby mode. I have heard they use alot.

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J.D.

In addition to checking the cable box when I get home, I’m going to have to recheck the Wii. That 16 watts figure just seems way too low. I’ll post an addendum to this entry once I have the figures.

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The Tim

You definitely chose the right video game console for energy efficiency. The Xbox 360 sucks down 160 watts, while the PS3 reportedly clocks in at 380 watts! Yow!

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George

Brad writes:

“Wash in warm water; I haven’t done a hot water wash in probably 20 years and my clothes always come out clean.”

By the same argument, why not use cold water instead of warm? Unless the clothes are really dirty, cold water does a fine job.

As to the high-efficiency front loading machines, I’m not really sold on them. When we were shopping for a new machine, the high efficiency ones cost twice as much as a standard top-loader. It takes a LOT of water and electricity to make up a $500+ up-front cost.

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brad

The small stuff does add up…in the energy efficiency world appliances that suck power even when they’re not turned on are called “electricity vampires.”

But as James Kew pointed out above, the larger items are important, too. When it’s time to get a new washing machine, shop for a front-loading Energy Star model — they use 1/3 of the water and 1/3 of the electricity. Wash in warm water; I haven’t done a hot water wash in probably 20 years and my clothes always come out clean. Also consider whether you really need a dryer. I’ve never owned one in my life (and I’m 47); in summer I put clothes out on the line and in winter we have drying racks that we put by a sunny window. Everything dries in a day (even our flannel sheets) unless it’s really cloudy and cold outside. I’ve saved thousands of dollars over the years by not having to buy a dryer or pay for the electricity to use it.

The fridge is another major household energy consumer; always look for an Energy Star model when you’re shopping for a new one. Energy Star air conditioners and other appliances are also available; it’s a no-brainer to just look for the Energy Star when you’re shopping. Even if the appliance costs a little more up front, you’ll get back the difference in a year or two with lower energy bills.

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Andy

Regarding the Xmas lights:

I went to school in Rochester, NY and one year I lived in an apartment off-campus. One night as I was driving home from work I was listening to the radio. They had an ad to remind people that it was illegal to have Xmas lights up after a certain date because of the power usage. I thought that was quite odd.

I’m not sure if it’s still a law however, I was there for 5 years and that was the only time I ever heard it.

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James Kew

icup makes a good point — and one that’s addressed both in Bluejay’s guide and your original post: go for the guzzlers first.

It seems to me that the Kill-A-Watt is fun but risks sweating the small stuff: it could take a long time to identify enough savings to repay its cost.

On the other hand, my $4 fridge/freezer thermometer paid for itself in one month: the effect of turning the refrigerator down was immediately noticable on my power bill.

(Probably less noticable with a modern energy-efficient fridge; but the clunker in my apartment looks like it has quite a few years on the clock.)

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Joe

I got one of these a while back. I have a dual side electric blanket as well, and I found that it doesn’t matter what setting it’s on, it consumes the same amount of power, which was unexpected. It does require more to run both sides instead of just one though. Yea, little things like your phone, or a powered speaker on a computer, that you don’t think of, draw 2 to 3 watts each, 24/7…

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George

I’m really interested to find out what the power draw is of your cable box – I’d love to test out my PVR to find out what kind of power it’s drawing as well.

If you’re willing to sell the Kill-A-Watt once you’re done with it, J.D., drop me a line. I’ll be happy to take it off your hands. 🙂

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icup

I was going to get one of these, but since we have electric heat, stove/oven and 220 volt airconditioners, I figured it wouldn’t be very useful, since those use the largest fraction and can’t really be measured.

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